Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Pages: 319

Intended Audience: Teens and mature tweens

Genre: Realistic / Fairytale Retelling / Romance

Notes for Parents: There’s some mild language and a few mature scenes.

The Inside Cover

When geek girl Elle Wittimer sees a cosplay contest sponsored by the producers of Starfield, she has to enter. First prize is an invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. Elle’s been scraping together tips from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck behind her step-mother’s back, and winning this contest could be her ticket out once and for all—not to mention a fangirl’s dream come true.

Teen actor Darien Freeman is less than thrilled about this year’s ExcelsiCon. He used to live for conventions, but now they’re nothing but jaw-aching photo sessions and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Federation Prince Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the diehard Starfield fandom has already dismissed him as just another heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, closet nerd Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.

What the cover doesn’t tell you:

This is a 2017 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction. The author is working on another “retelling,” called Heart of Iron, based on the story of Anastasia.

What’s good?

This is a witty parody of the classic Cinderella story. It goes a step further by celebrating geek culture with conventions, cosplay, fanfic, and mention of many science-fiction/fantasy tv shows, movies, and books. Ella has the obligatory evil stepmother and two stepsisters. Darien, an actor cast in the upcoming movie based on Ella’s favorite sci-fi television show, is precariously poised to be her prince. The story is told in alternative POV between Ella and Darien. Sage, my favorite character, is Ella’s co-worker at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (serving vegan treats). The story touches on issues of loneliness, friendship, betrayal, grief, and the cost of fame. The pace moves well, the plot is very simple, and the chapters are short, making this a quick and easy read.

Best Part: “Holy sweet merciful credit cards, Batman!” (pg. 201)

What isn’t good?

The story was totally predictable. There was nothing new. The romance was pretty corny – fairytale like, but still sweet. Ella’s stepmother was very over-the-top in her cruelness, so much so that I’m sure it qualifies as psychological abuse. There were a few editing errors that should have been caught. And then there was my nails on a chalkboard line, “Take that back!” Do people really say that?

Worst part: Isn’t “federation” from Star Trek?

Recommendation ☺☺☺☻☻ (3/5)

It was light, fluffy, and entertaining. There were some great characters (including Sage and Frank the Tank), and a plethora of sci-fi references that every geek will enjoy. There was nothing overly complex or in-depth about the story, it was just simple and fun. Recommended.

Poston, Ashley. Geekerella. Philadelphia: Quirk Books, 2017.